tulefog

Did you notice at 1:47 that the nuclear missile button flew off his belt? Thank goodness it landed face up!

I have a prototype Hammer X Factor 5-Iron and I hit it about 350 yards (no roll). POW!!!!

I think it's OK so long as you wear a top that matches the clubs...

Does this count as a 15th club?

To the OP, I would say you were treated to a valuable life lesson - If you treat people with respect, you are more likely to be respected. Most people who behave like jerks have very few, if any, true friends and they never seem to figure out why. Even though you felt badly about the way you were treated, which is totally understandable and justified, if the experience serves as a reminder to treat younger people with respect when you get to be his age, it will have been well worth it. Best to you!

...my concentration is so absolute, I am pretty sure I wouldn't hear the air horn...

I think we are saying the same thing, and I agree with you. Personally, I would recommend that a person play by the rules. I think it will make you a much better golfer and certainly better prepared for competitive golf. That said, I am not troubled at all if people in my group choose to play differently - as long as we are not competing.

Winter rules, Danny.

I was going to ask Iacas this question in the thread about Pasatiempo, but I thought it was a little off topic. Iacas referred to himself as a "design geek." My question is, what makes the design of a golf course great? Of course, we all appreciate the natural beauty of surrounding areas and well tended course conditions. My question is, all other things being equal, what makes the design of one course great and another mediocre?

I couldn't play before, or after

I think that there are several ways of looking at this. Before a person may be deemed to "cheat" you have to assume that there is a set of rules, that the player knows and has agreed to play by the rules, and then has chosen to consciously disregard one or more rules. My experience is that a person has to take golf fairly seriously before they take the time an effort to learn the rules. The commitment to play by the rules is a personal choice. Before I started playing golf on a regular basis, I would play casually with several friends. Some groups would allow a mulligan only on the first hole, some would allow one mulligan per nine holes. Almost always someone would improve their lie by rolling the ball a half turn forward and the like. OBs were treated as lateral water hazards. I think these forms of "cheating" are fairly common among non-serious golfers. As long as everyone is OK with it, who cares? The point is to have fun, and we did. When I started taking the game more seriously, I was shocked to learn that there is no official mulligan rule. Moreover, I think that the rule which requires a person to play out of a fairway divot that some joker rudely chose not to replace is completely unfair, and finally, the last thing I want to do on a busy day on a busy course is to walk back to the tee box with the next group waiting after I discover that the ball which I thought to be on the course has in fact rolled 1 foot into someone's backyard. That said, I now post scores for handicap purposes. Each and every round I post is played strictly by the rules. It makes no sense for me not to. Also it is a good way to chart your progress (or lack thereof).

Sometimes I hit my second shot from the red tees....

Why is it that the lettering on the back of irons is upright when the club is in the bag and upsidedown while in use, whereas the lettering on putters is the opposite?

As I read the responses, I realize that I was indeed not clear with my playing partner. Instead of saying "Do you prefer to play blue or white? It doesn't matter to me." What I should have said is "I prefer to play from the same set of tees throughout the entire 18 hole round. Do you prefer to play blue or white? It doesn't matter to me."

OK, so I have a question. Before we start, I say to my playing partner "What tees do you want to play, blue or white? It doesn't matter to me." Playing partner picks blue. Two holes later, playing partner decides blues are too far and he is going to start playing from white. Do I move up to white too? Am I rude or anti-social if I don't?

"Yes. Yes. Winter rules." - Judge Smails.

I used to try to save my clubs. However, my attitude these days is that I would rather have a piece of equipment be retired because it was used and abused rather than rusting in the garage. I bought golf clubs to use them. When they die, I will replace them and do it all over again!

For one round I would rent, for two or more, I would bring them.

Sorry to hear about your accident. Get well soon!

"When I drove ball over them, they were about 250 yards out." So you hit it 350 to make sure you safely cleared them? It's starting to smell like trout in here.

Congratulations. I have never had an ace, but I was at a course when some kid hit an ace. It was his first one and it was on a par 4! He had no idea that it went in because it was so far away, but we could see it from the tee box of the next hole.

To the OP. Maybe you should have untied the knot in your panties and started to play 2 balls yourself. I am sure the extra practice wouldn't hurt you and your walk would be much more comfortable.

Thank you for all the insight. With all the how-to books and magazine articles out there, I can't believe there is not more devoted to this topic. The reason that I raised the question is that I cannot tell you the number of times I have made a putt and then said to myself "Oh yeah, I remember this green is deceiving, it breaks radically right even though it looks even." Or "Oh yeah, this green is deceptively fast." I kept thinking that if I had some way of keeping a record, I might have some hope of remembering. The problem is that when pin locations are changed daily, you are not always playing the same part of the green, so it may be months before you relive the experience of any particular pin location or general area on the green. Also, the course diagrams give you yardages, but they don't necessarily help you determine the best approach, especially where the best approach may vary based on pin location. Based on all this, and given the prevalance of notebooks on tour, I was wondering if there were some uniform or recommended way of keeping notes. Again, I really appreciate everyone's input.

Thank you for replying. With respect to the pictures, I am assuming that the distances are all from the front of the green. Also, are the arrows intended to show break with the more severe turns showing more break? It looks like someone diagramed the green and then went and rolled golf balls off the shelf or ridge to figure out how severe the break is. Very cool.

I notice that professional golfers and their caddies each carry notebooks with notes on each hole of the course. I am wondering if anyone here has seen one of those notebooks and might know what kind of information might be in there. I am assuming distances are in there. Do they also make note of landing areas depending on pin location or prevailing winds? With respect to greens in particular, I am wondering if there is a way to make note of slope and grain which may give some indication of how far a putt will roll or break in a given distance or direction. Thanks for any input!